“Like when Barca had Messi” – Arsenal transfer target’s manager delivers him the ultimate compliment | OneFootball

Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for an exciting talent in La Liga for a while now, and he’s just been compared to Lionel Messi of all people.

Not a bad comparison, except it’s a bit of a strange one as the player in question is a goalkeeper – Espanyol’s Joan Garcia.

Cadena SER have been among the outlets to recently report on Arsenal being in pole position to sign Garcia this summer.

One imagines other top clubs will surely be in for the talented Spanish shot-stopper in the near future, as he’s clearly really highly regarded.

Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez has been discussing Garcia, and said that his team having him is like when Barca had Messi.

Is Arsenal transfer target Joan Garcia the Lionel Messi of goalkeepers?

Joan Garcia in action for Espanyol (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

It’s hard to compare goalkeepers with Messi, but Garcia is clearly a special talent and has that match-winning importance that the Argentine had for Barcelona at his peak.

“We have a goalkeeper who makes a difference. This is like when Barca had Messi,” Gonzalez said, as quoted by the Metro.

“He’s going to be a world reference, and I’m happy for him as a professional and as a person.”

This will surely excite Arsenal fans, though the links with Garcia are also slightly surprising while they still have David Raya as their number one.

Raya remains a top class ‘keeper and it’s hard to see him losing his place as a starter in Mikel Arteta’s XI.

At the same time, though, it surely wouldn’t make much sense for AFC to sign someone as good as Garcia only to put him on the bench.

The 23-year-old could perhaps go out on loan first, or stay at Espanyol for another year, just as Giorgi Mamardashvili has done with Valencia this season, despite Liverpool agreeing a deal for him last summer.